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SPELLS FOR SPEAKING
Bystander Level A1.2, A2.1
Age 8-12
Organization whole class, pairs
Aims To retell a story or part of a story from the point of view of a bystander; to
recycle language from the story.
Language focus In the example: present simple, parts of the body, adjectives of
size, i to describe animals
Alternatives: any, depending on the story
Materials
Essential: picture of a 'bystander', eg in picture book of the story
Procedure
1 Create a context for a bystander to recount the story. For example, with the story
of The Gruffalo a description of the gruffalo could be recounted by a bird who
had 1 sitting on a branch and watching everything.
2 Elicit the children's ideas for how the conversation might go, eg Bird: Guess
what? The~?l gruffalo in the wood. Friend: A gruffalo? There's no such thing as
a gruffalo. Bird: Oh, yes. I Friend: What's a gruffalo like? Bird: It's very big. It's
brown and it's got big, orange eyes...
3 Divide the class into pairs.
4 Children take turns to act out being a bystander in the story and recounting a
descr.r the gruffalo to a friend. Encourage them to use their voices and facial
expressions to their surprise and amazement about the gruffalo as they listen
and recount the story
5 If appropriate, you can also ask the children to write their conversations.
Comments and suggestions
• This activity provides a context for recycling language from a story in a way
which lifs 1 children's voices and intonation since they are pretending to recount
the story to son hearing it for the first time. This also helps to prepare them for
recounting personal s an interesting way in real life.
make their bystander accounts of stories sound more spontaneous and nature
Class play
Level All
Age 6-12
Organization whole class
Aims. To prepare and act a class play over time based on a familiar story; to
collaborate others; to develop memory skills; to develop confidence and self-esteem.
Language focus In the example: language from the traditional story of The Three
Littk 7’uS j Alternatives: any, depending on the play and story
Materials
Essential: copies of the play (one for each child)
Procedure
1 The preparation of a class play is best when it develops naturally out of a story
that have done lots of previous work on and particular’ enjoyed. This example is
an adaptation of a traditional story.
2 Once roles are assigned, it is usually advisable to organize rehearsals over at
least 3-4 weeks of lessons, practicing different scenes with different children on
different days far short periods, eg 5-10 minutes, either after more formal work
has been completed, ori children not in the scene are engaged in other activities
related to the play, eg making programmes or writing invitations.
Throw the ball
Age 5-6
Organization whole class
Aims. To practice questions and answers
Procedure
Children stand in a circle. Say I'm .... What's your name? and throw the ball to a child.
That child says their name, asks the question and throws the ball to another child, and
so on, until everyone has introduced themselves. If children already know each other,
miss out asking the question.
Introductions chainAge 8-12
Organization whole class
Aims. To practice using words and word-combinations
Procedure
Children stand or sit in a circle. Say, eg My name's... and I like... (dogs). Accompany this with
a mime, eg pretending to stroke a dog. The child next to you says This is... and she likes dogs.
I'm ... and I like football, (and adds a mime of their own, eg kicking a ball). Continue in the
same way round the circle, getting the children to repeat the sentences and mimes until
everyone has introduced themselves. If a child can’t remember what have said, they say Help!
rather than go out of the game and other children respond. If to a have a large class, children
can do the activity in two or three groups.
Comments and suggestions
Learning first names as soon as possible is a golden rule for any teaching, and with
children it is particularly important for creating a positive socio-affective climate and
managing the class effectively.
Hopscotch
Level Al l
Age 4-6
Organization whole class
Aims To practise counting; to identify familiar objects and vocabulary; to develop
physical coordination; to develop confidence in participating in a game in English.
Language focus numbers 1-8, action words, jump, hop, any familiar vocabulary
Materials
Essential: tape or chalk, objects, picture cards or flashcards, a bean bag or other soft item to
throw (not a ball)
Procedure
1 Use chalk or tape to make hopscotch squares (approximately 50 cms x 40 cms) in a row on
the floor.
Number the squares 1-8.
2 Place a familiar object or flashcard in the top left corner of each square.
Explain and demonstrate that children should take turns to throw the bean bag onto one of the
squares
3. They then hop (on the single squares) and jump, landing on both feet (onto the
double squares) to number 8 and back down again to the square where the bean bag
has landed. They then name the flashcard or object on the square, eg It's a teddy
bear!, pick up the bag and hop or jump out of the hopscotch squares.
4 As each child has a turn, the rest of the class watch. They count the squares in
chorus verity you as the child goes up the hopscotch eg One, two, three, four and
chant eg Hop, Jump. (depending on the square), Stop! (while the child picks up the
bean bag and names the or flashcard) and Out! as they jump out of the last square
on the way back. If you like, an can encourage the children to clap and say, eg
Fantastic! after every turn.
Comments and suggestions
• This is an adaptation of a traditional game which children may already know.
Through counting the squares and chanting, children are drawn into using language
naturally _ they participate in watching and playing the game.
• With very young children, it is better to play with fewer hopscotch squares, eg
four, in ; straight line. Children jump from square to square rather than hop.
• If you have space in the classroom to leave the hopscotch squares set up, you can
play the game regularly using different vocabulary or have a routine over a few
weeks whereby three children have a turn to play at the end of each lesson.
Guessing games
Level All
Age 4-12
Organization whole class, groups or pairs
Aims To ask and answer questions; to mime an action; to make logical deductions; to
listen to others; to take turns.
Language focus:
any vocabulary, depending on the flashcards, What's this? Is it a...? Yes it is./No, it
isn’t.
present continuous (questions and short answers)
present simple, havegot, (questions and short answers)
have got, describing people
present simple (1st person questions)
any lexical set, questions with present simple and be
prepositions of place
Materials
Essential: flashcards; a bag, small pieces of paper; sticky labels ; a poster or a large
picture, eg in course book
Optional: mime cards; word cards
Procedure
Use one or more of the following guessing games to practise specific language and
vocabulary as appropriate.
Guess the flashcard
Place 6-8 flashcards of familiar items face down in a pile.
1 Pick up the first flashcard card and hold it so that children can't see the picture.
Ask What's this? and children guess, eg P: Is it a banana? T: No, it isn’t. P: Is it a pencil
case? T: Yes, it is.
2 If children guess the flashcard before asking six questions, they score a point; if
not, you score a point.
3 At the end of the game, count up the points to decide the winner
Guess the mime
1 Ask a child to the front of the class. Whisper an action for them to mime, eg
playing a computer game. Other children watch and guess, eg P2: Are you writing an email?
PI: No, I'm not. P2: Are you playing a computer game? PI: Yes, I am.
2 The child who guesses correctly has the next turn.
3 If you prepare mime cards with suggestions for mimes, eg eating a banana,
cleaning your teeth, children can also play the game in groups.
Guess the name
1 Ask the children to write their names on a small piece of paper.
2 Collect the names and mix them up in a bag. Invite a child to take one of the
names out of the bag and to keep this secret.
3 Other children ask up to six questions to find out who it is, eg Is it a boy/girl?
Has he/she got brown hair? Does he/she play the piano? Has he/she got a brother? Does
he/she like football? Is it...?
4 The child who guesses correctly has the next turn.
Animal, object or person
1 Choose the name of an animal, object or person. Explain that children can ask
you twenty yes/no questions to find out what it is, eg PI: Is it a person? T: No, it isn't. P2: Is
it an animal? T: Yes, it is. P3: Does it live on a farm? T: No, it doesn't. P4: Does it live in the
rainforest? T: Yes, it does.
2 The child who guesses correctly has the next turn.
After one or two rounds with the whole class, children can then play the game again in groups.
SentenceLevel All
Age 4-12
Organization whole class
Aims To complete sentences following a given starter; to take turns; to develop confidence
and self-esteem. ,
Language focus any, eg present simple, adjectives to describe feelings: I like... /[feel happy
when .../ When I grow up, I want to...
Materials Essential: a small object, eg coloured handkerchief, soft ball, toy, stone or puppet to
pass round the circle
Procedure
1 Ask the children to sit in a circle.
2 Choose a sentence starter for them to complete which relates to the topic or language of the
lesson and either say this or write it on the board.
3 Give one child the object to pass round the circle and invite them to complete the sentence
with something which is true for them.
4 They then pass the object to the child next to them, who completes the sentence in a similar
way, and so on round the circle.
Comments and suggestions
• This activity provides a framework for practising a particular language pattern in a
personalized way.
• Through passing the object, a clear protocol is established for turn-taking and when to
listen and when to speak.
• The repetition of the sentence starter provides repeated modelling for children who may be
more hesitant about speaking. If you like, you can also build in a convention whereby
children can say ‘pass’ the first time the object goes round the circle if they are not ready to
contribute.
• With very young children, you may like to pass round a familiar puppet and ask the
children to tell their sentences to the puppet rather than to the whole group. This is more
intimate and may feel less threatening for some children. Alternatively, if you use a soft ball,
you may find it works better to roll the ball to different children in the circle, who say a
sentence and then roll the ball back to you each time, rather than passing it round the circle.
This also keeps children alert as they do not know who you will roll the ball to each time.
• With older children, you may like to precede the sentence round with a pair work task in
which children find out about their partner and use the sentence round to report, eg When
Elena grows up, she wants to be a famous ballerina.
Classroom shop
Level Al.l, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2
Age 6-10
Organization pairs, whole class
Aims To ask for and give things to people; to ask and say prices; to take turns; to use
Please and Thankyou.
Language focus In the example: present simple, have got, can (for requests), How
much ...?, shops, shopping, classroom objects, numbers, colours Alternatives: I'd
likeclothes, pets, toys
Materials
Essential: classroom objects, eg rulers, pens, scissors, pencil cases; pieces of paper
to display prices (6-8 for each pair or group); paper money (eg 10 x1 euro paper
'coins' for each child)
Optional: plastic toy money to use instead of paper money
Procedure
1 Divide the class into pairs or groups of four.
2 Ask each pair or group to choose six classroom objects from among their
possessions to go into their classroom shop.
3 Ask the children to decide the price for each item, write the prices and make a
display on their desks. (Make sure the children realize that the shop is only
pretend and that they are not really going to sell their possessions!)
4 Elicit and practise language you want the children to use and demonstrate the
activity with one pair, eg T: Good morning. P: Good morning T: Have you got any
rubbers? P: Yes, we have. Look. T: How much are the rubbers? P: Two euros. T: Can
I have this rubber, please? P: Yes, of course. That's two euros, please. T: Here you
are. P: Thankyou. T: Goodbye. P: Goodbye.
5 Ask the children individually to write a shopping list of three things they want to
buy.
6 Give out paper money (the same amount to each child, eg 10 x 1 euro paper 'coins’).
7 Divide the class in half and assign the role of 'shoppers' to one half and
'shopkeepers' to the other half.
8 Children visit the shops and buy three things.
9 At the end, ask the children to show and tell what they have got, eg I've got a red
pen, a green pencil sharpener and a rubber and how much money they still have
left, eg I've got two euros.
10 Children then change roles and repeat the activity.
Comments and suggestions
• This activity needs careful management. If you are concerned about having half
the class as 'shoppers' at the same time, it is best to ask fewer children to take
turns to visit the 'shops'.
• The currency for the classroom shop can either be the currency of the children's
country or, eg American dollars, Australian or British pounds. With younger
children, it is usually better to use the currency they are familiar with and, eg one
and two euro coins only. With older children, it may be appropriate to use dollars
or pounds, especially if they are likely to travel to these countries.
• After the activity, older children can compare dollars or pounds with their own
currency and/ or use the internet to find out current conversion rates
• This activity can be done in a similar way for a variety of different shops, eg
clothes shop, pet shop, toy shop, grocers shop. For these, you will need to either
prepare or download from the internet pictures of items to sell in the shops or use
plastic fruit or real toys, etc.
Comments and suggestions
• This activity can be made shorter or longer and more or less challenging,
depending on how many pieces of information you include on each card. For
example, you could just include names or you could add additional information,
eg the month of their birthdays or their favourite food.
• If necessary, you can build in an additional rule to the activity which is that
children should only answer questions if these are asked in English.
• As soon as children find their partner, it is important to give them a short task
to do (eg as described in the procedure above) in order to settle them down and
to ensure they don't disrupt others who are still doing the activity.
• If you are designing your own cards, you need to ensure that there are at least
two pairs of cards with characters of the same name and only minimally
different information.
• Instead of cartoon characters, you can also use the names of real film, pop or
sports stars that the children know.
Three things about me
Level All
Age 6-12
Organization whole class (mingling) or groups
Aims To say things about yourself; to ask and find out about other people; to show
interest and
respect for the opinions of others.
Language focus In the example: like+ -ing, sports and free-time activities
Alternatives: present simple, can (for ability), want to, going to, food, places,
countries
Materials
Essential: sticky paper notes, or small pieces of paper and paper clips (one for
each child)
Procedure
1 Give a sticky paper note (or small piece of paper and clip) to each child.
2 Ask them to draw three small pictures to show what they like doing in their free
time, eg a TV, a book, a football, and attach the paper to their fronts.
3 Explain and demonstrate that children should walk round the class, look at
each others' drawings and talk about them, eg PI: I like watching TV. Do you? P2:
No, I don't. I like reading.
P3: Me too.
4 At the end, ask children to stand next to the person they've talked to who they
have most in common with.
5 Ask a few pairs to report back to the class, eg We both like playing football.
Comments and suggestions
• This activity personalizes language and the pictures play an important role in
providing a focus and prompt for children to speak.
• It is advisable to get the children to rehearse the language they are going to
use before the activity, eg through choral repetition.
• It may be a good idea to set a time limit for both parts of the activity, eg
drawing the pictures - two or three minutes, and mingling - five minutes.
• If the class is large, you may prefer the children to remain seated and do the
activity in groups. Alternatively, if the children are seated in rows, you may ask
them to just mingle with the children in their row.
• The activity can be used to practise a variety of different language structures
and vocabulary, eg I can play the piano. /1 want to go to Peru. /1 like chicken./I’m
going to the cinema.
Learn with a puppet
Level A 1.1
Age 4-6
Organization whole class
Aims To recognize, practice and memorize vocabulary and/or short chunks of
language by responding to a puppet; to create an affective atmosphere which
encourages active participation.
Language focus any lexical set and/or short chunk of language
Materials
Essential: a puppet, real objects or flashcards
Optional: a bag for objects or
flashcards (see 3.1d), music (see 3.If)
Procedure
Use any one or a combination of the following procedures:
Follow the puppet's instructions
1 Lay out the flashcards or objects on the floor or stick them on the board.
2 Use the puppet to say, eg Touch the banana... Maria and Daniel.
3 Children listen and do what the puppet says.
Repeat what the puppet says
1 Use the puppet to say vocabulary or short sentences which the children are
familiar with, varying the pitch, volume and pace, eg The giraffe is tall. / The lion is
fierce.
2 Children listen and repeat what the puppet says in the same way.
Correct the puppet
1 Ask questions and get the puppet to give the wrong answers or to say sentences
with the wrong information, eg The ball is blue.
2 Children listen and correct the puppet in chorus, eg No,...! (naming the puppet)
Green!
Guess what the puppet's thinking about
1 Put 3-6 flashcards on the floor or board. Use mime to convey that the puppet is
thinking about one of them. Encourage children to guess which one.
2 Make the puppet shake its head and say No and then nod and say, eg Yes, brilliant!
when a child guesses correctly.
Tongue Twisters
6. Ask the children to see how many times they can say the tongue twister with their partner in
one minute. If you have a stop watch, use it to time the activity.
Tongue twisters provide an enjoyable way of practising individual sounds that children may
find difficult depending on their LI. (This one is particularly suitable for Spanish speakers.)
Level All
Age 6-12
Organization whole class, pairs
Aim To practise saying a particular sound in a tongue twister; to raise awareness of how
particular sounds are formed; to improve pronunciation skills.
Language focus any, depending on the tongue twister
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: stop watch
Procedure
1 Draw the children’s attention to the particular sound to be practised in the tongue
twister and demonstrate how it is made. For example, in the case of /s/ followed by a
consonant, hold your index finger to your mouth and make a hissing noise like a
snake.
2 Repeat, but this time turn the hissing noise into a word, eg Sssssss. ..snake! Do this
several times with different words the children know followed by a consonant, eg
school, spider, Spain, star. Demonstrate that there is no vowel sound before 's' at the
beginning of words.
3 Say the tongue twister you have prepared slowly, eg Stupid Steve stole sixty scary
spiders from a school in Spain and get the children to repeat it with you. If you like,
write it on the board.
4 Get the children to say the tongue twister again three times, going faster and faster
each time.
5 Divide the class into pairs.
7.Ask the children to report back how many times they managed to say the tongue
twister.
8.You can also ask them to tell you any tongue twisters they know in their own
language.
Comments and suggestions
In cases where there are two sentences and contrasting sounds in the tongue twister, children can
take turns to say one sentence each when they time themselves in pairs
Flashcard vocabulary activities
Level Al.l, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2
Age 6-10
Organization whole class
Aims To recognize, practise and memorize vocabulary through associating
words, meanings and pictures.
Language focus any lexical set or combination of lexical sets
Materials
Essential: flashcards for one or more lexical sets
Optional: word cards to match the flashcards
Procedure
Use any one or more of the following procedures:
Flashcard instructions
1 Stick a set of flashcards on the walls around the classroom.
2 Divide the class into groups.
3 Give each group instructions in turn, eg Group 1 - walk to the elephant. Group 2-
jump to the lion.
Flashcard groups
1 Divide the class into groups. Assign each group a flashcard, eg 'apple 1 - this is their
name.
2 Give instructions, eg Apples, touch your nose! Carrots, put your hands on your
head! Children listen and follow the instructions for their group.
Missing flashcard
1 Stick a set of flashcards on the board. Children say the words.
2 Ask the children to close their eyes. Remove one of the flashcards. Children
open their eyes and name the missing flashcard.
Magic eyes
1 Stick a set of flashcards in a row on the board. Children say or repeat the words.
2 Remove the flashcards one by one. Point to where they were and children
repeat the names as if they were still there.
Lip reading
Stick a set of flashcards on the board. Choose one flashcard and mouth the word
silently. Children read your lips and say the word.
Repeat if it's true
Stick a set of flashcards on the board. Point to one of the flashcards and say the
word. If you have said the correct word, children repeat it. If not, they fold their
arms and stay silent.
This activity can be made more challenging if you say sentences, eg It's a blue car.
Picture the storyLevel All
Age 4-12
Organization whole class, (pairs)
Aims To describe a picture from a story; to predict what happens in the story
before and at the moment in the picture; to create interest and attention in listening
to a story; to listen and compare the story with your predictions.
Language focus In the example: present continuous, past simple, there is/are,
making predictions with perhaps, maybe, going to Alternatives: present
perfect, past simple
Materials Essential: a picture depicting a moment in a story (eg an enlarged copy
of the pi from The Boys and the Bear below, adapted from Aesop's fable)
Procedure
1.Show children the picture and ask them to describe it in
detail. Use this as an opportunity to pre-teach vocabulary in the
story if necessary.
2.Explain that the picture is part of a story. Ask the children to
predict what they think happens in the story before
picture. Ask questions to stimulate their ideas, eg Why is the
boy lying on the ground?
Is he dead? Did the bear kill the boy? What is the bear going to
do? Why is the boy in the tree? Did he escape from the bear?
3.Once the children have elaborated their ideas about the story, say Let's listen and find
out Read or tell the story once.
4.Get the children to compare what happens in the story with their predictions.
5.Ask them what they think is the moral of the story (eg a true friend never abandons you
in danger).
6.Follow with further work on the story as appropriate
Respond to the word
Materials
Essential: a copy of the story for you, eg The ant and the grasshopper, a version of Aesop's fable
Optional: a copy of the story for each child
The ant and the grasshopper
One summer day, there was an ant and a grasshopper in a field. The ant worked very hard
collecting food for winter and the grasshopper played. The ant said, ‘Grasshopper, why do you
play all the time? You should work and collect food for winter like me.’ The grasshopper laughed
and said,‘I don’t like work. It’s much more fun to play. I can work and collectfood tomorrow.’
Every day of summer was the same. The ant worked and worked collecting food for the winter.
The grasshopper played and played. He didn’t collectanyfood.
Soon it was winter. There was snow in the field and it was very cold. The grasshopper went to
see the ant and said, ‘ Hello, ant. I’m hungry and it’s cold. Please shareyourfood with me.’The
ant said,‘No, grasshopper. Sorry.You had a chance to work and collectfood in the summer. But
you only played. I collected food for myself. I don’t have any food for you.’The grasshopper
walked away sadly and thought, ‘Oh, dear. What a fool I ami In the summer I played and played.
Level All
Age 4-12
Organization whole class, groups
Aims To be reminded of a story through listening attentively and responding to
specific words; to develop concentration skills; (to scan a text for key words).
Language focus In the example: ant, grasshopper, work, play, food Alternatives: any
key words in the story chosen
Why didn’t
Iwork like the ant? Where can I find food now?
Procedure
1 Use this activity to remind children of a story they have already listened to once. Select key
words that are repeated several times in the story, eg ant, grasshopper, work, play, food.
2 Divide the children into five groups and assign one word to each group. Teach the children
to
respond to the words they have been assigned in the following way:
in response to ant children should say: busy, busy, busy
in response to grasshopper, hop, hop, hop
in response to food: yum, yum, yum
in response to play or played: hee, hee, hee
in response to work or worked: sigh, sigh, sigh.
3 Say, Ant!/Food! etc in random
order and practise getting the
children to respond in chorus
with their group quickly and rhythmically.
4 Explain that you are going to tell the story again. Ask the groups to listen and respond every
time they hear their word in the story. Put a slight emphasis on the words at first.
5 Ask the children how many times they think they heard their word in the story and listen to
their response. Either tell the children the answer or, with older children, if you have copies
of the story, ask them to scan the text to find and underline their words and then count them
to check the answer (grasshopper 8; ant 8; food 10; work 8; play 8). This can then act as a
lead-in to further detailed comprehension work on the story.
Story statues
Level All
Age 6-12
Organization pairs *
Aims To create a 'statue' of a character at a specific moment in the story; to look at
and identify other statues; to collaborate in pairs.
Language focus be, Wh- questions, present continuous, opinions, vocabulary from the
story
Materials
Essential: none
Procedure
1 Ask a child to the front of the class. Explain that you are going to make them into a
'statue' of a character in the story. Move the child into position so that they are
standing smiling and slightly leaning over, as if they have got a basket on one arm and
with the other arm taking something out of the basket to give to someone. Get the
child to 'freeze' like a statue.
2 Ask the rest of the class to guess, eg T: Who's this? P: I think it's Little Red Riding
Hood. T: What's she doing? P: She's giving a present to her 'grandmother'.
3 Divide the class into pairs (A and B).
4 Tell the children to choose another character and moment from the story and ask the
Child As to make the Child Bs into a sculpture in the same way.
5 When the children are ready, ask the Child As to look at all the sculptures and guess
the character and what they are doing.
6 Children then change roles and repeat the procedure.
Comments and suggestions
• In choosing a character and specific moment in the story for their 'statues', it also
encourages children to recall the story in detail.
Still images
Level All
Age 6-12
Organization groups, whole class
Aims To mime specific scenes from a story in still images; to use the still images to
reconstruct and retell the story; to collaborate in groups.
Language focus present simple and any other language, depending on the story
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: strips of paper with key scenes from the story (one for each group)
Procedure
1 Ask the children to think of the key scenes in the story and write a list of these on the
board. For example, for Little Red Riding Hood (LRRH) these could be: LRRH and her
mother prepare the basket to take to her Granny. /LRRH meets the wolf in the forest. / The
wolf goes to Granny's house. / The wolf eats Granny. / The wolf dresses up as
Granny./LRRH talks to her 'Granny' in bed. / The wolf attacks LRRH. / The woodcutter
arrives to rescue LRRH and Granny just in time.
2 Divide the class into groups of 3-4.
3 Assign a scene from the story to each group. Ask them to prepare a still image
to depict their scene. Explain and demonstrate that, as well as the characters, children can
mime being objects as part of their still image, eg trees in the forest. Set a time limit, eg 1-2
minutes, for children to prepare their scene.
Routine rhymes
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 4-6
Organization whole class
Aims To encourage children to follow classroom routines; to familiarize children
with classroom and other language; to create a positive socio-affective atmosphere
and secure learning environment.
Language focus: greetings, goodbyes, things in the classroom, numbers, actions, parts
of the body, If story time
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: a puppet
Procedure
Teach the children one or more of the following rhymes. Say them rhythmically and
use them, with or without a class puppet, whenever appropriate as part of your
lesson routines.
Greetings rhyme
You (or a puppet) and children taking turns to say each line.
Good morning.
Good morning.
How are you?
I’m fine, thanks.
And me too!
Goodbye rhyme
Time to finish now
Stop our work and fun
See you on ... (name day of next lesson)
Goodbye, everyone! -
Classroom action rhyme
Use this rhyme to familiarize children with things in the classroom.
Point to the window Point to the door Point to the ceiling Point to the floor!
Point to the clock Point to the shelves Point to the board
Point to ourselves! (traditional, adapted)
Substitute words in lines 1 and 3 of each verse for any furniture or other things that
are prominent in your classroom, eg cupboard, plants, carpet.
Energetic action rhyme
Use this rhyme to allow the children to let off physical energy.
Ask the children to stand up. Make a beckoning gesture as you say the rhyme and
do the actions.
Follow, follow, follow me.
Jump, jump, jump,
One, two, three!
Repeat with other actions, eg run (on the spot), hop, clap, wave.
Finger rhymes
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 4-8
Organization whole class
Aims To follow and show understanding of a rhyme using your fingers; to say a rhyme
associating language and finger movements; to develop concentration skills; to develop
familiarity with traditional children’s culture.
Language focus present simple and
caterpillar, numbers 1-5
spiders, numbers 1- 5
determiners this/these, grandma, grandad
Alternatives: any, depending on the rhyme
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: a counting cut-out to use instead of fingers
Procedure
Use finger rhymes as appropriate to fit in with topics, stories or language you are
currently working on with the children. Repeat the rhymes in several lessons until children
can say the rhyme and do the actions confidently.
Caterpillar counting rhyme
1.Show the children a picture of a caterpillar and leaf or draw these on the board.
2.Hold out your left hand flat so that it is like a leaf and wiggle the
index finger of your right hand so that it is like a caterpillar and get
the children to do the same.
3.Say the rhyme, encouraging the children to follow the finger
movements and to join in.
One little caterpillar (wiggle your finger)
Hungry for lunch
Finds a tasty leaf (hold your left hand flat, move your finger towards it)
Munch, munch, munch! (move your finger as if eating the 'leaf')
4.Repeat with two, three, four and five little caterpillars raising another finger each time
and for five, raising your thumb.
Learn a chant with rods
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 4-8
Organization whole class
Aims To learn a chant using coloured sticks or Cuisenaire rods; to associate words
in the chant with the length and colour of the sticks or rods; to develop recall,
memory and concentration skills.
Language focus In the example: imperatives, put on, clothes
Alternatives: any, depending on the rhyme
Materials
Essential: coloured sticks or Cuisenaire rods
Procedure
1 Choose rods or sticks to correspond to the words in the chant. Choose short sticks
for words like on and longer sticks for words like everybody.
2 Get the children to sit in a circle with you.
3 Teach them the chant by laying out the rods or sticks word by word and line by
line on the floor facing the children. Use mime to convey the meaning of each word
and line.
4 Go back over the lines you have already taught the children frequently, pointing
to the rods in turn and getting the children to say the words in chorus with you.
5 As the same words are repeated in new lines, hold up the rods which represent
each word and elicit these from the children. As they make the association between
the rods and the words, they will almost be able to construct the chant themselves:
Everybody put on your hat,
Put on your hat,
Put on your hat.
Everybody put on your hat,
Just like me!
6 Once you have taught the children the whole chant, ask them to stand up and say
it with you and act it out. For 'everybody' point round the group, then mime putting
on a hat for each line and point to yourself three times as you say each word in the
last line.
7 Repeat several times substituting different clothes words and corresponding
actions, eg boots,
coat, gloves or getting the children to suggest these.
Comments and suggestions
• The use of coloured sticks or rods provides variety in the way you teach rhymes
or chants and may be particularly memorable for children with strong visual-spatial
intelligence.
• This technique works best for rhymes and chants that include several repetitions
of the same word. Children can then predict the words as you show them the rods or
sticks in each line.
• If you have a whole box of different coloured sticks or Cuisenaire rods™, instead
of choosing the rods for each word, you can invite the children to do this. As they
do this, you can encourage them to make the connection between the length of
words and the size of rods and also, if appropriate, colour and meaning, eg orange
for the sun.
I don't want to!
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 6-10
Organization whole class
Aims To develop familiarity with classroom language instructions; to listen and
respond in a chant; to practise saying you don't want to do, or will do, something.
Language focus In the example: imperatives, classroom language, want, will
Alternatives: food vocabulary
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: a picture or photo of a (very appealing looking) dog, maracas or a
tambourine
Procedure
1 Show the children a picture or photo of a dog or draw one on the board.
2 Explain that you are going to say a chant including classroom language
instructions. The children can reject all the instructions by saying No, I don't want
to! but whenever you give an instruction that refers to the dog, eg Feed
/Walk/Stroke/Play with the dog! they must agree and say Yes, I will!
3 Get the children to practise the responses in chorus a few times. Then do the
chant with the whole class. Use maracas or a tambourine or click your fingers to
keep the rhythm of the chant.
4 Either use the classroom language instructions below or any others that are
familiar to the children and fit the rhythm of the chant. Hold up the photo of the
dog in the last line of each verse.
Sit on your chairs! Stand in a line!
I don't want to! I don't want to!
Open your books! Put away your pens!
I don't want to! I don’t want to!
Tidy the class! Put on your coats!
I don't want to! I don’t want to!
Walk the dog! Feed the dog!
Yes, I will! Yes, I will! (adapted from a rhyme by Max de Boo)
Comments and suggestions
• Children usually enjoy saying I don‘t want to! with gusto in this chant, since this
is not how they are usually expected or able to respond in the classroom.
• If appropriate, you may like to talk to the children, either in English or in LI,
about how none of us always want to do things that we have to do, and that it's
fine to express this, even though we may not always be able to avoid doing them.
• With older children, it may be appropriate to ask them to work in groups and
think of three more classroom language instructions to include in the chant. The
groups can then take turns to come to the front of the class and do their verse of
the chant with the whole class.
• An alternative version of this chant can be done with food vocabulary. For
example, children can reject all kinds of fruit and vegetables and only say yes to
chips, eg Eat your peas! I don't want to! Eat your chips! Yes, I will.
• Children are likely to transfer language from the chant to the classroom. This
may give you an opportunity to find out why children do not want to do particular
things and you can use their responses to reevaluate, although not necessarily
change, what you ask them to do.
Instructions rhyme
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 4-8
Organization whole class
Aims To listen and follow instructions in an action rhyme; to build up confidence in respond
to English and participating actively in class.
Language focus In the example: imperatives, numbers, colours
Alternatives: parts of the body, actions, shapes, classroom objects, any other familiar vocabu
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: a poster, or a picture in the course book
Procedure
1 Ask the children to stand up.
2 Demonstrate by saying the rhyme in a rhythmic way
Everybody listen
And look at me.
Touch something... RED When I count to three.
One... two... three... (traditional)
3 Get the children to wait until you finish counting to three before they do the action and th
respond all together as fast as they can.
4 Repeat the rhyme several times giving different instructions in line 3 each time.
Comments and suggestions
• Counting to three at the end of the rhyme gives children thinking time before responding
helps ensure that everyone can participate successfully.
• The instruction in the rhyme can be adapted to many other lexical areas, for example, pc of
the body (eg Touch your nose), classroom objects (eg Show me your pen), actions (eg Jump
three times), shapes (eg Touch something round), pictures on a poster or in the course book
( Point to the tree).
This rhyme is useful as part of a familiar repertoire of activities that you do regularly with
the children using different vocabulary, for example, as a warmer or closer or if you need
refocus attention during the lesson.
Clapping chantsLevel Al.l, Al.2 Age 6-10 Organization pairs
Aims To say a chant as you play a clapping game; to improve pronunciation and awarene
rhythm and stress; to cooperate with a partner.
Language focus In the examples: present simple, days of the week, like, food Alternatives: any
language and vocabulary that fits the clapping rhythm of the chant
Materials
Essential: none
Procedure
Use the following procedure for either of the chants below.
1 Stand facing a partner.
Clap your own hands together.
Clap both hands with your partner.
Clap your own hands together.
Clap right hands with your partner.
Clap your own hands together.
Clap left hands with your partner.
Clap your own hands together.
Repeat over and over.
Who's got the chocolate?
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 6-12
Organization whole class
Aims To ask and respond to questions in a chanting game; to follow the rhythm and
the ru] of the game.
Language focus Who...?, have got, chocolate, box
Alternatives: past simple
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: an empty box of chocolates
Procedure
1 Get the children to stand or sit in a circle. Either number the children round the
circle or u their names.
2 Show the children the empty chocolate box if you have one. Ask the first question
and gel children to repeat this. Then demonstrate how the chanting game works.
Everyone: Who's got the chocolate from the chocolate box?
You: Number three's got the chocolate from the chocolate box.
Number three: Who? Me?
Everyone: Yes! You!
Number three: Not me! Number ten's got the chocolate from the chocolate box.
Number ten: Who? Me?
Everyone: Yes! You!
Number ten: Not me! Number seven's got the chocolate from the chocolate box, etc.
Comments and suggestions
- This chanting game is adapted from a traditional West Indian game:
Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar? It can be played using either
the present or past tense and any suitable vocabulary that fits the
rhythm, eg Who stole the sandwich from the picnic box?
- In the traditional game, children are out if they miss a beat or make a
mistake in the words or say the number of a child who is already out.
They then turn to face the outside of the circle but carry on clicking their
fingers to keep the rhythm of the chant. The chant starts again every time
someone is out and goes faster each time. The winners are the last two
children still in the game. With older, more confident children, it may be
appropriate to do the chant in the traditional way once they are familiar
with the game.
Vocabulary train chants
Level Al.l, A1.2, A2.1, A2.2
Age 4-10
Organization whole class
Aims To practise saying familiar vocabulary from a lexical set in a rhythmic
way; to improve pronunciation of individual words; to develop vocabulary
recall, memory and concentration skills; to develop visual literacy (with very
young children).
Language focus In the examples: colours, food
on a pizza Alternatives: any suitable vocabulary
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: flashcards of vocabulary in the chant, maracas or a tambourine to keep
the rhythm
Procedure
1.If you have flashcards of vocabulary in the chant you are going to do,
elicit the words and stick these on the board in rows to show the order of
the chant.
2.Explain that the children are going to say a 'train chant'. Click your
fingers and say Ch-ch-ch- ch placing the stress on the first 'ch' in a
repeated way to set up the rhythm of a train.
3.Get the children to join in clicking their fingers and saying the chant
with you, quite slowly at first (say and in both of the chants below in an
unstressed way, ie /an/). Speed up the rhythm towards the end of the
chant and raise your voice and elongate the last words to sound like the
whistle of a train.
4.Repeat the chant with the children once or twice. Then ask them to
stand up and act out the chant by moving up and down on the spot in a
rhythmic way and making circular movements with their arms bent at the
elbows, like the wheels of a train.
Two examples of vocabulary train chants are as follows:
Colour train chant (age 4-8) Pizza train chant (age 6-10)
Red and yellow Mushrooms, mushrooms
Red and yellow Cheese, tomatoes, cheese, tomatoes,
Orange and green Sausages, bacon, sausages, bacon,
Orange and green Chicken and ham, chicken and ham
Pink and purple Chicken and ham, chicken and ham
Pink and purple Red and green peppers, red and green
peppers
Blu-u-u-u-e! Blu-u-u-u-el Olives, onions, olives, onions
Tu-u-u-u-na! Tu-u-u-u-na!
Parts of the bodyLevel Al.l, A1.2
Age 4-10
Organization whole class
Aims To sing (or say) and act out a song (or rhyme); to associate language and actions; to
develop concentration and memory skills.
Language focus In the examples: elephant, parts of the body, adjectives of size, present
simple, if, crocodile, lunch
Alternatives: any, depending on the song or rhyme
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: flashcard or picture of elephant or crocodile
Procedure
1.Either show the children a picture of the animal for the rhyme or song you have chosen, or
draw this on the board.
2. Say the rhyme or sing the song doing the actions and encourage the children to join in.
3. Repeat once or twice in the same lesson and again in subsequent lessons. Vary the
procedure, eg you sing the song and children do the actions; you do the actions only and
children sing the song; divide the class into pairs and children take turns to sing the song or
say the rhyme and act it out with their partner.
Examples of a rhyme and song to act out are:
The elephant rhyme
An elephant goes like this, like that, (take big strides from side to side)
He's terribly big, he's terribly fat. (make yourself big and fat)
He's got no fingers, he's got no toes, (move your fingers; shake one foot and then the other)
But goodness gracious, what a nose! (make an elephant's trunk with one arm) (traditional)
The crocodile song (sung to the tune of Little Brown Jug)
If you see a crocodile today, (put your hands up to your eyes and look around)
Say 'goodbye' and run away, (wave and pretend to run)
If you don't run,
CRUNCH! CRUNCH! CRUNCH! (make three snapping movements with your arms as ’jaws')
He'll eat you for his
LUNCH! LUNCH! LUNCH! (rub your stomach as if eating something delicious)
Comments and suggestions
• Acting out songs and rhymes is a standard procedure in primary education which can be
applied to many rhymes and songs. Children usually respond enthusiastically and it is often
the simplest and most successful way of engaging children's attention and helping them to
memorize the words in a natural way.
Conduct a song
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 4-10
Organization whole class
Aims To sing a familiar song loudly or softly in response to visual signals; to develop
concentration and memory skills.
Language focus In the example: imperatives (put, keep), picnic, rubbish, bin
Alternatives: any, depending on the song
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: a baton to conduct the song
Procedure
• Ask the children to stand in a semi-circle like a choir.
• Explain that you are going to 'conduct' them as they sing the song. Demonstrate that
they should sing loudly when you raise your hands and quietly when you lower them.
• Conduct the class as a choir, singing with them at first and raising and lowering
your voice as you move your hands.
• Once children are doing the activity confidently, you can make your hand
movements between singing loudly and singing quietly more frequent and sudden. An
example of a song you can conduct is as follows (sung to the tune of Head, shoulders,
knees and toes):
Put your rubbish in the bin, in the
bin Put your rubbish in the bin, in
the bin Picnics in the countryside are
fun Keep it clean for everyone
Everyone!
Comments and suggestions
1. This activity is an enjoyable way of varying the way children sing a familiar song.
2. With older children, once the class is familiar with the activity, you can ask
individual children to conduct the class instead of you. You can also divide the choir
into sections and bring different groups in either separately or together.
3. When using songs in this way, particularly with younger children, you may want to
conduct the last two lines to be sung increasingly quietly in order to settle the class
before moving on to the next activity.
4. The song in this example can be used with 6-9 year olds to raise children's
awareness about the importance of looking after the environment.
Singing games
Level All
Age 4-8
Organization whole class
Aims To sing a song as part of a game; to follow and respect the rules of a
game; to build confidence in actively participating in classroom activities.
Language focus Where...?, teddy bear, Here it is! (be, prepositions of place)
present continuous, any familiar vocabulary Alternatives: any, depending on
the song or game
Materials
Essential: a teddy bear or flashcard of a teddy bear ; flashcards of the
vocabulary in the game
Procedure
Use games which include songs for variety and as appropriate if they relate to the
language, topic or story you are doing with the children. Teach the children the song
and actions that go with the game first. Then play the game with the whole class.
Where's my teddy bear? (age 4-6)
1. Ask the children to close their eyes and put their heads on their desks.
2. 'Hide' the teddy bear somewhere in the classroom, not too obvious but visible
without moving things.
3. Ask the children to open their eyes and sing the song as they look all round the
classroom for the teddy bear.
4. At the end of the song, invite a child who has spotted the teddy bear to get it and say
Here it is! Alternatively, they can say where the teddy bear is, eg It’s under the table!
The song is sung to the tune of Row, row, row your boat.
Where's my teddy bear?
Where's my teddy bear?
Teddy bear! Teddy bear!
Where’s my teddy bear?
(C. Read and A. Soberon)
We're looking for ... (age 4-8)
• Ask the children to stand in a circle.
• Lay out 6-8 flashcards face down in the centre.
• Children walk round in the circle clockwise, singing the song.
• In the last line, name a child. That child turns over one of the flashcards. If the
flashcard matches the word, the child picks it up and has the next turn naming a child in the
last line.
• The game finishes when all the flashcards have been picked up.
This song is sung to the tune of The farmer's in his den.
We're looking fora(n) ... (name an item, eg apple, car, tiger)
We're looking for a(n) ... (repeat the item)
Ee-i, ee-i, can you find it... ? (child's name)
Comments and suggestions
• Simple ritualistic games involving songs such as the ones above provide variety in
the way songs and games can be used. They also build up children's confidence and
sense of security since there is no pressure on individuals to perform on their own.
Story-related songs
Level Al.l, A1.2
Age 6-12
Organization whole class, groups, pairs
Aims To recycle language from a story in a song; to aid recall and develop memory
skills; to promote enjoyment in stories and songs.
Language focus present simple, questions
enormous, turnip, pull, family, animals
parts of the body, action verbs, Why...?
present continuous (for future), zoo Alternatives: any, depending on the story and
song
Materials
Essential: none
Optional: story books or pictures from the story chosen
Procedure
Use a story-related song once children are familiar with a story in order to recycle
and/or extend language it contains. Three examples of story-related songs are as
follows.
The enormous turnip
1. Children sing a verse and do actions for each character in this traditional story.
Depending on the version of the story you have used, this may include members of
the family, eg mother, grandfather and/or animals, eg cat, dog, cow.
2. If you like, you can divide the class into groups and each group takes turn to sing
verses and do actions for one or two characters each.
This song is sung to the traditional Australian tune of Kookaburra.
The enormous turnip song
Here's the... (eg mother)
What does she do?
She pulls and pulls the turnip too.
Pull, everybody, pull Let's pull the turnip now!
Little Red Riding Hood
Use the song as preparation for children doing a role play and acting out this part of
the story.
• Divide the class in half.
• Children sing the song either as Little Red Riding Hood or Granny.
• Children then repeat the procedure in pairs.
Granny, why are your eyes so big? (sung to the tune of London bridge is falling
down)
Granny, why are you eyes so big,
Eyes so big, eyes so big?
Granny, why are your eyes so big?
To see you little one.
Repeat with: ears - to hear you; arms - to hug you; teeth - to eat you (and children
playing the part of Granny / the wolf pretend to pounce).
Can I cross your river, Mr Crocodile?Level A1.2, A2.1, A2.2
Age 6-10
Organization whole class
Aims To ask permission and respond according to the reply in a playground game; to
follow and respect the rules of a game.
Language focus can (for permission), if, present continuous, have got, clothes, parts of
the
body, colours
Materials
Essential: chalk or tape to mark the'river banks’
Procedure
Play this game in the playground or gym.
1 Use tape or chalk to mark the boundaries of the 'river' (5-10 metres apart).
2 Either choose a (confident) child to be the crocodile or take this role yourself.
3 Get the other children to stand on one of the banks of the river and to ask you
in chorus Can I cross your river, Mr (or Miss/Mrs) Crocodile? Mime looking crafty and
thoughtful and then answer, eg Yes, if you're wearing something red! / Yes, if you've got
curly hair!
4 Explain and demonstrate that children who fit the description should say Thank
you, Mr (or Miss/Mrs) Crocodile! and try and run across the river without you catching them.
5 Any children who are caught become crocodiles and help you think up answers
in the following turns. The last child to be caught is the winner and becomes the crocodile in
the next round of the game.
Comments and suggestions
• As with 5.10, this game involves children playing in English outside the
classroom and using language in a natural, motivating and enjoyable way.
• The language demands of the activity can be adjusted to suit the children, eg it
may only be appropriate to play the game using one structure and lexical set.
• Although children are unlikely to have formally come across if or conditional
sentences, they usually have no problem either understanding or using the word if in the
context of the game. If necessary, you can give a quick translation at the start of the game.
Picture card gamesLevel A 1.1
Age 5-8
Organization pairs, whole class
Aims To identify vocabulary on picture cards; to ask and answer questions; to listen
to others; to manipulate picture cards; to move to music; to take turns.
Language focus any vocabulary depending on the cards and can (for ability),
Hurray Can I have...?
Where's the...? hot, cold (warm, cool, freezing)
have got Where's the...?
Materials
Essential: sets of 6-8 vocabulary picture cards (one set for each child,)
Optional: music
Procedure
Either get children to cut out the picture cards, if these are included in their course
book, or give these out. Use one or more of the following card games to practise
specific language and vocabulary as appropriate.
Hurray!
1.Divide the class into pairs.
2.Explain and demonstrate that the children should put their cards face down in a pile.
3.They turn over their cards at the same time and say, eg I can see the... tomato! As soon as
they turn over matching pictures, they say Hurray! and take that pair of cards out of the game.
4.After turning over all their cards, they reshuffle them and start again.
5.The game ends when there are no more cards left.
Can I have ...?
1.Divide the class into pairs.
2.Ask each child to secretly choose four cards from their set of picture cards and
hold them in a fan so their partner can't see the pictures.
3.Explain and demonstrate that Child A should ask, eg Can I have the lion, please? If Child B
doesn't have the card of the lion, they say No. Sorry. (I haven't got the lion). If they do have the
card of the lion, they say Here you are! and give it to Child A, who says Thank you and puts it
on the table.
4.Child B then has the next turn asking a question. The game ends when the children have
discovered all of each other's cards.
Hot, hot, hot!
1.Play with the whole class. Ask two children to wait outside the classroom door for a moment.
2.While they are outside the door, stick one of the vocabulary cards somewhere in the
classroom, where it is ‘hidden’ but nevertheless visible without moving anything. Involve the
rest of the class in helping you to do this.
3.Ask the two children back into the classroom and everyone asks, eg Where's the elephant?
The two children look for the vocabulary card of the elephant and the rest of the class
helps by saying Hot! Hot! Hot! if the children move near to where the card is hidden
and Cold! Cold! Cold! if they move away.
4.When they find the card, the two children say, eg Here's the elephant! and everyone claps
and says Hurray!
Repeat several times with different children. If appropriate, you can also introduce the words
warm, cool and freezing, using mime to convey the differences, into the game as well.
In addition to the games above, you can also use picture cards to get children to show
listening comprehension, eg by holding up the correct card when they hear it in a story
or song, and for games to get the children into pairs or groups.